Decorating Sugar Cookies

Who doesn't love Christmas sugar cookies?!

Yummy!

Santa and "Cookies"

The kids got to see Santa at Sam's work party a few weeks ago, and there were no tears from any of them. I consider that a success!

Ellie was right at home on his lap. She skipped right up to him, climbed on his lap, and talked to him like they were old friends.

Jonah just stared at him for awhile, then decided to look toward the flash of the camera.

And Nathan was pretty hesitant about the whole thing, but he ultimately decided he would stay... But only if he could hold Ellie's hand. (So sweet)

Now if only I could get Nathan to realize that the cinnamon ornaments we made last year are NOT cookies, we would be good.

I guess you can't make something look and smell like a cookie and expect the two-year-old not to try and eat it.

Without Christ, There Would Be No Christmas

"Without Christ, there would be no Christmas. Without Christ, there can be no fulness of joy. Without His birth and Atonement, we would have no Intercessor, no Advocate with the Father, and no Mediator who makes it possible for us to return to the presence of our loving Heavenly Father and live together as eternal families."

Image from here.

"This Christmas, as the spirit of the season permeates our hearts, let us do something that expresses our feelings in an outward way, showing that we understand that the babe born in Bethlehem is the real Redeemer."1

"This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again."2

I am so grateful for the Savior, who came into this world the same way all of us do: as a tiny, newborn baby. And I am so grateful that because He was born that day, and because He died for us, we can live with God again. I know this to be true.

Have you seen this video yet?

Discover, Embrace, and Share the Gift at christmas.mormon.org.

1. The Reality of Christmas, Gary E. Stevenson
2. The Gifts of Christmas, Howard W. Hunter

The Reason for the Christmas Season

“No worry or anxiety over the choosing and giving of gifts; no enjoyment of holiday feasts; no decorations however modern or attractive; no social parties however jovial, should ever overshadow the fact that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ who came to give life, light, and peace to all mankind, and who marked the way by which these eternal blessings may be obtained. Let us ever remember that ". . . God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16.)

- “Man May Know for Himself: Teachings of President David O. McKay”

Watch the beautiful video and learn more about the reason for the Christmas Season here:

http://www.mormon.org/christmas

The First Snow

We woke up to this yesterday morning:

Ellie and Nathan were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. Of course we had to celebrate by having pancakes with "snow" (powdered sugar) and listening to Christmas music.

We needed to get out of the house, so we decided to go to story time at the library. Ellie chose her own outfit, complete with the snow boots. It made me laugh. This was the best picture I got because she was mad that Nathan wanted to be in the picture...... Yeah. 

The boots complete the ensemble, don't you think?

Now that there is snow, Ellie keeps asking me when Christmas is.... 

Christmas

This year we stayed home for Christmas and just spent it as our little family. We were sad to be away from extended family, but at the same time it was fun to focus on our kids. 

On Christmas Eve we got together with Sam's brother's family. We had Sam's family's tradition of Hawaiin Haystacks for dinner, decorated gingerbread houses, the kids watched "Rudolph," and the adults played heads up - a fun game that my mom taught to us while she was here. 

After family left, the kids opened a Christmas Eve present from Grandma:

Christmas jammies! We all put our adorable new pjs on, and Sam taught the kids about the Jesus' birth with our Little People nativity set.

After the nativity story, the kids had a huge fight. Excuse the blurry pictures - I was laughing too hard.

Ellie: "No Nathan, you can't have a single one of the 15 nativity pieces! I need them all for myself!"

Ellie: "Sorry, I'm bigger and can just push you away." 

Nathan: "You want to put your hand right there? Fine, I'll bite it!" Then he grabbed one of her pigtails and yanked. She screamed and jumped on top of the toys to protect them.

I guess Nathan was satisfied after that, because he walked away with a pleased look on his face.

Sam and I had a pretty good laugh over that fight. Usually when Ellie takes things away from Nathan he just looks up at us and cries, waiting for us to intervene, but it was hilarious to watch him actually fight back.

After everyone was calmed down, we took a family picture:

Then we put the kids to bed. I made a cinnamon bread ring for Christmas morning, finished up the slush, Sam put the rest of the presents under the tree and put together one thing, and we were off to bed too. 

Christmas morning was great! It was nice and slow-paced. We opened presents, then had breakfast.

We got to talk to family and just be together celebrating Christ's birth. I am so grateful for the beautiful, humble beginning of the Savior of the World and that we have the opportunity each year to dedicate a day to celebrating it.

Internet Is Back

Guess what? We have internet. Yay! Just in time to be done with the semester. :)

I have a lot to catch up on, so I guess I will start somewhere. How about with Ellie?

Ellie has thoroughly enjoyed helping mom and dad make Christmas treats - specifically eating said treats.

She has also recently decided she loves to snuggle and that she wants to be held all the time.

We went on campus while Sam used the internet for work. Ellie, Nathan and I went to the bookstore and read some books, and when they got a little too noisy we walked back upstairs where Sam was. Ellie nearly took a sip of an old drink sitting on a table, so I got her her own. You would never know from the pictures that there was only water in there. 

It was so funny how cool she thought she was!

She also helped Nathan eat his birthday cake. (There is a lot of sugar involved in her life I guess!)

And she got a new jacket. She went through a phase where she refused to wear a jacket, and in Rexburg that's not really going to fly. So we took her to the store and let her pick one out. Luckily our plan worked - even though it's not the one I would have picked necessarily, she wears it!

She has recently decided she is scared of her room, and she has been waking up several times a night. We have tried lots of things, and I think something is beginning to work! (Knock on wood) it broke my heart the first time she came running into our room in the middle of the night and said "I saw a scary monster."

She is such a good big sister to Nathan, and he completely adores her. Even when he's sad, he always has a smile for her.

We love having our Ellie around! 

Oh, Christmas Tree!

We put up our Christmas tree last night!!! Sam got home from work at 10:00, and for some reason we decided to get the tree ready. (I think I was way too excited, so Sam went with it :) ) We had bought 1 strand of lights from DI, but it wasn't enough... So of course we went to Walmart at 10:30 to get more. Of course, right? We couldn't have a half-lighted tree, now could we? While at Walmart we found a box of candy canes for 88 cents and we couldn't resist (ok, I couldn't resist) buying them. Then we came home, strung up the rest of the lights, put on the ornaments and candy canes, and voila! Christmas. :)